Municipal Recycling

The City of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has been honored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board for diverting nearly two-thirds of its solid waste from the landfill.

The city has concentrated on recycling and diverting solid waste generated by residents and businesses to achieve its 66 percent diversion rate.

On the residential side, the city offers weekly curbside pick up of newspapers, phone books, cardboard, junk mail, paper bags, metal cans, glass jars and number one and two plastic bottles.

Additionally, the city encourages home composting; schedules large appliance pick ups; offers green waste recycling options; provides information on oil and oil filter recycling locations; hosts electronics recycling drop-off sites; and has a material exchange program for furniture and other large items.

On the commercial side, the city accepts hazardous waste and obsolete electronics and oversees a Resource Market Development Zone to attract companies that consume recyclables in the manufacturing process.

"Our collection companies offer reduced rates for businesses that recycle a certain percentage of their waste stream, and a majority of city businesses take advantage of these savings," Thousand Oaks Public Works Director Donald H. Nelson told Recyclescene, the newsletter of the California Resource Recovery Association.

The residential side also has done its share to encourage recycling. "Between 2000 and 2002, the residential curbside program grew 16 percent," Thousand Oaks City Manager MaryJane V. Lazz told Recyclescene.

On the electronics recycling side, one of Thousand Oaks' newer initiatives included a recent drop-off event that collected nearly 100,000 pounds of used computers, monitors, televisions and other electronic scrap, according to city officials.

CAN PAY-AS-YOU-THROW WORK IN NYC?

A former New York City Department of Sanitation budget analyst, now an independent consultant, believes the recycling collection cutback does not solve budget problems, but another change in strategy might.

"The only real conclusion I draw is that if we’re serious about reigning in our waste budget, ‘pay-as-you-throw’ deserves a hearing right now," Steve Hammer, president of Hammer Environmental Consulting, New York, says.

Pay-as-you-throw is a system where residents pay for additional solid waste bags or containers collected beyond the allotted number. Programs can be designed to use designated bags or tags placed on cans used by residents.

"In other cities, researchers have found that waste levels decline by 16 to 17 percent when a pay-as-you-throw system is established," Hammer notes.

Because more than 60 percent of New Yorkers live in multi-tenant buildings (of five or more units), solid waste collection is difficult to track, Hammer admits. "Pay-as-you-throw could be limited to one, two or three-family dwellings, keeping waste reduction incentives intact," he says.

GLASS TILE MAKER JOINS KING COUNTY PROGRAM

A maker of custom glass tiles has joined the LinkUp program of King County, Wash., to solidify its connection with the recycling industry.

Bedrock Industries, Seattle, transforms glass cullet into decorative tile, dinnerware and other specialty items. Bedrock used more than 50 tons of recycled glass in 2001.

Through the LinkUp program, which it joined earlier this summer, Bedrock Industries and the King County Solid Waste Division will test glass tile products for performance factors such as thermal shock, water absorption, friction, abrasion and strength. The LinkUp program offers technical and promotional support to eligible businesses in the Seattle area.

Glass artist Maria Ruano founded Bedrock in 1993. The company sorts recycled bottles by color and pulverizes them. The glass is put into molds and heated in kilns to make tiles, wind chimes and other products. The tiles—typically used to make floors, countertops and walls surrounding pools and hot tubs—are shipped to retailers and manufacturers throughout the country.

Bedrock, which procures its glass from curbside recycling programs and other sources, such as stained glass manufacturers, joins a list of 10 other Seattle-area companies that have joined the LinkUp program, including recyclers of scrap plastic, concrete, wood and other materials.